North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper Gregory J. Seabolt, 47, from Denton has been named the recipient of the American Association of State Troopers 2009 Trooper of the Year award.
Seabolt will be presented with the award and a check for $1,000 at the AAST national board meeting Tuesday at a 12:30 p.m. luncheon in the Egyptian Ballroom of the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.
A 24-year veteran of the department, Seabolt is assigned to Troop D, Greensboro. He was selected as the national AAST Trooper of the Year from a pool of candidates from across the country. The award was based on Seabolt’s life-saving efforts March 27, 2008, when he helped save a woman from Randleman Lake, south of Greensboro.
Seabolt rescued the woman, who had attempted suicide when she jumped into the lake from an overhead bridge. Following a report of a suspicious car just before 2:30 a.m., Seabolt and a deputy were searching the water with their flashlights when they heard a faint voice call for help. They found the driver of the vehicle in the water clinging to a tree.
Seabolt obtained a rescue rope and life vest from his patrol car, climbed down a steep embankment and jumped into the icy-cold water in a pitch-black area.
Noticing that the woman was exhibiting signs of hypothermic shock, Seabolt held onto her until fellow officers arrived and pulled them back to shore. The victim was treated for hypothermia at a local hospital. Seabolt was not injured.
“We are privileged to honor Trooper Seabolt with this important award for his selfless efforts that helped save a life,” AAST President Tommy Moore said. “He showed tremendous dedication to duty and concern for others during the life-saving act, and he is most deserving of this special recognition.”
Seabolt also received the N.C. Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary’s Gold Circle Award and the department’s Heroism Award for his life-saving action.
As Trooper of the Year, Seabolt and his wife will be treated by AAST and the National Safety Commission to an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas to receive his award.
The AAST Trooper of the Year award is sponsored by Ken Underwood, founder and CEO of the National Safety Commission (http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com/), one of the nation’s leading providers of driver education services. The company provides a variety of online driver education courses in all 50 states and has been recognized as America’s second-fastest-growing education company.